10 Times Star Trek Reused Footage And Hoped You Wouldn't Notice

The explosion so nice, they used it twice. This Klingon Bird-of-Prey had such an iconic exit in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, that one would assume it could never be reused. There is a difference in showing a beautiful panning shot again, as those are almost timeless. Showing the destruction of a ship tends to be a unique moment, and it very much should have been when it came to this.

In The Undiscovered Country, Chang's Bird-of-Prey is discovered thanks to a doctored torpedo. It hones in on the ship's tailpipe, thus giving away the ship's location. Combined fire from the Enterprise-A and the Excelsior soon put an end to it.

Exactly one film later, the Enterprise-D is facing off against another Bird-of-Prey, this one commanded by the Duras Sisters. After triggering the ship to cloak, its shields drop and Riker gives the order to fire. This torpedo does the job all on its own, obliterating the Klingon ship, shot for shot, exactly the same way as Chang's had been. It's painfully obvious, to the detriment of the film.

This moment, the granddaddy of all reused shots in Star Trek, is a fine example of when the filmmakers should have left well enough alone.